


What It's All For

by Ishimaru_Asuka



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Buchou/Senpai-Kohai Relationship, Grooming, Hidden Intentions, M/M, Match, Promise, Seigaku Buchou Pair, Shin Tennis no Oujisama Ep 04, Training
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-12 00:25:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5647222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ishimaru_Asuka/pseuds/Ishimaru_Asuka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaidou remembers how Tezuka treats him differently from the other regulars; how mean his buchou seems sometimes. And it takes him two years and their final match to figure out what Tezuka's true intentions are.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What It's All For

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there!
> 
> Seems like I can't turn my back on fanfiction after all. XD  
> This story is part of my weekly writing exercises, and since I haven't written anything for this fandom before (I wonder why; it's still awesome!) this was the one to choose. I know the pairing is quite unusual, but Ep 04 of SPoT tipped me of to them and I thought why not exploit the gem of a plothole I found. See for yourself, and see what I made of it.  
> And most of all...
> 
> Have fun reading!

**What It's All For**

 

Sometimes Kaidou pondered on what he had done wrong; what it was that made him deserve what he had gone through.

The first days had been different. He had been new to the school, new to the club and new to tennis altogether. Of course as a first year he hadn't been allowed to mingle with the regulars, and he had been okay with it. He had known he needed basic training first before he was allowed to swing the racket to his heart's content; before he was allowed to stand on the same court as his second year buchou, whose breathtaking play had been the deciding factor to join the club in the first place. He just couldn't take his eyes off whenever he got to see it. Awed and amazed. And he wanted to be there up close, to experience it firsthand one day, to be one of the best beside his buchou.

So Kaidou ran and fetched balls and ran some more, he made crunches and situps and practised swinging hundreds and hundreds of sets during club activity and at home to achieve his goal.

But somewhere around that time his rivalry happened. The two first years started competing and challenging each other whenever they met; it went so far that they got lost in their thrive to outdo the other and forgot everything around them. He continued with his tough training regimen, ramped it up even. But his focus strayed. There suddenly was a new goal that blocked the way to catching up to his idol, a goal that seemed easier to achieve. Because his rival Momoshiro was at about the same level as him. So they pushed each other onwards and over their limits, again and again. It was thrilling and riling and calling on his tenacity. Yet this was different from his first aspiration to become a tennis player.

And maybe that was the reason to his punishment.

 

Seigaku's buchou was a strict one, a young merciless man with principles, who believed in the fruits of hard work and whose motto was to be vigilant and to always play their best. If anyone got distracted or fooled around on the courts he made them run countless laps or doubled their sets. He would go about the training players and check up on them.

Tezuka would even seem mean in his decisions; to Kaidou buchou sometimes did seem mean up to a point where it bordered on bullying.

 

"Ten more laps. Don't waste time," he demanded one time when the regulars were plum tuckered out after running about the courts so much. "B-but," Kaidou tried to argue. However one sharp glare from Tezuka shushed him up and he dragged on his utterly tired feet. Kaidou was the only one to have to keep on running. And for no reason really. At least Kaidou didn't know why he was doing this to him. Maybe he shouldn't have argued with Momoshiro so much during the warm up.

While the others were allowed to play matches Kaidou was still running. It didn't seem fair. He would have liked to also stand on the court, but Tezuka was watching him from the corner of his eye like a hawk. So he ran, alone and feeling like a beat up kitty. Still he did not protest further and did as he was told.

 

Another time they were doing knee bends and buchou walked past him. "Bend your knees more. You have to do three more sets," he told him while Momoshiro got away with it this time. Kaidou pouted. Because again he felt wronged. Still he bent down deeper although his thighs were burning protestingly; and he did his sets obediently. Even if everything inside him was screaming in frustration. He felt he didn't deserve this punishment. Yet it was buchou's orders and they had to be followed.

 

And when he finally was allowed to play against Tezuka, he was mercilessly getting crushed.

"What's wrong? Get up, Kaidou!" he glared at him while Kaidou was bruising his knees, hands and face on the hard court after a failed attempt at getting the ball with a slide. Tezuka was chasing him around worse than he had imagined; he was so way out of his league it hurt. And buchou seemingly rubbed it in his face whenever possible.

Even after practice hours when everyone was already on their way home Kaidou had to run overtime; and Tezuka would watch him until the very end. "Last lap," he didn't even cut him the least bit of slack. It was harsh; Kaidou wanted to drop dead so exhausted was he. And when he rounded the last corner buchou wasn't even there to congratulate him anymore.

However on the sink there sat a fresh bottle of sports drink. It was like a silver lining. And when he looked up to see Tezuka's back as he walked to the club house, Kaidou felt as if he got his pat on the head after all. So maybe buchou wasn't cruel without reason, and there would be small gestures of rewards if Kaidou did good.

Therefore he once mustered up the courage to ask buchou for advice; and he did get one. They talked about Kaidou's training menu and the efforts he made to improve. Tezuka encouraged him even. But the best thing was one of his rare smiles. Kaidou could run on that for a longer time.

But these moments were sparse, and the doubled sets and tripled laps outweighed them by far. Tezuka never seemed to really favour any of the regulars, but Kaidou felt he was treated more meanly and more mercilessly than the others. It got as far as that he even thought the carrot and stick approach consisted of stick only. He didn't understand what Tezuka buchou expected of him, much less how he could meet those expectations. The pillar of Seigaku was just too high to reach.

 

But after Seigaku won the championships Kaidou gained a little confidence. So at the U-17 selection camp he mustered up and asked what he had been too shy to do those past two years: "B-buchou, would you group with me?" And for his courage he was rewarded: "Very well." Kaidou could only answer with a humbled: "Thank you."

But when Kaidou thought he received the highest of honours, they were crushed cruelly. Because then it was announced to play against the one they paired up with; the losers would just drop out. Kaidou cursed his luck.

"This is ridiculous! I can't do this!" he exclaimed in frustration. For how was he supposed to beat the Tezuka Kunimitsu when he wanted nothing more than to play doubles with his buchou? But there was no way about it.

So he took a deep breather and faced his chosen partner, his buchou, his pillar of support. Earnestly and humbly he wanted to at least get something across; because this would be the last time they played before the third year left Seigaku for good. "As your kouhai, I intend to learn everything I can from this match," were the words his mouth formed, while his heart whispered others.

Tezuka's gaze sharpened, then he turned and went to his mark unphazed. Kaidou felt ignored but he would still play the best he could. He knew he would loose, but he would at least make this match a lasting memory for himself. And maybe buchou would notice him for once.

Perhaps he already did. Since right from the start Tezuka was powering up, reaching the Pinnacle of Hard Work even before the first ball was played.

"Kaidou. Give me everything you've got," he demanded and his eyes bore intensely into Kaidou's. His heart skipped a beat. And yes, he would very well do that, and gladly. So the match began. Tezuka hit hard, twice the force behind each ball, so Kaidou countered with a Boomerang Snake. Playing defensively was all he could do for now. But buchou was cutting him no slack at all. One, two, three points hit home in a jiffy. He was driving his kouhai mercilessly. Kaidou was already out of breath while Tezuka wasn't even breaking a sweat.

Then he scored six-zero; there was but one point left before Kaidou was utterly crushed, and he was running out of steam. But he wouldn't go down so easily. Tezuka had demanded his all, so he would give him.

During the last change of court Tezuka murmured something to Hyoutei's buchou Atobe. Kaidou couldn't hear him but they seemed so close, closer than any Seigaku regular had become to their buchou. Somehow it hurt. But maybe he would have had to be at their level to be treated as an equal.

The match continued and again Tezuka seemed to be mocking him for the gaping abbyss in their skills. "What's wrong, Kaidou? Is this the best you can do?" he called and effortlessly shot a cross that made Kaidou run about the court. 'Tezuka buchou's amazing', was all he thought, 'he leaves no openings.' And it was true.

On the other hand Kaidou's knee gave way and he stumbled. He was getting so tired; his lungs were burning. And he couldn't even take a break anymore.

This was the last ball.

But if he didn't hit hard he wouldn't make it, even though every hit came back with doubled force. Kaidou prided himself in being Seigaku's most tenacious player. But this time it would be his downfall. The more he struggled the deeper he sunk into peril; he wasn't a snake anymore, he was caught in a predator's trap himself.

Then he was at the end of his rope and a blunder happened.

The ball should have been out, but buchou pulled it back in with his Tezuka Zone. What was happening? Kaidou didn't get it. And he hardly caught the next ball; it flew too high and out of bounds. That should have been it. But Tezuka again pulled it towards himself. And he also saved the next. And the one after that.

Kaidou was stumbling through every hit, dead tired and yet not giving up. He was at his limits though. And Tezuka was still not even breathing heavily. This was so ridiculous a match. Tezuka kept saving every ball and returning it with double intensity, while Kaidou was running on empty. It seemed futile but he didn't give up, couldn't give up. And he didn't get it.

Finally he stopped moving. He couldn't go further anymore. Everything was lost. Until it wasn't. The ball bounced off his unmoving racket and returned back to Tezuka, who smashed it back. So it went back and forth, Tezuka always hitting the same spot. Kaidou was speechless.

'Are...are you mocking me, buchou?' he wanted to ask. Back and forth the ball flew. And it maddened him, it enraged him that Tezuka was doing this to him, humiliating and mocking him publicly.

"Tezuka, you bastard! Stop screwing around!" he shouted, channelled that rage and swung his racket full force. Driven by his anger he roared and ran, caught the balls again on his own and struck them across the court. And then he played, played like he never had; driven by a hidden power he countered and returned with all the force he had. He played reckless and on plain instinct; he really gave his all, more than he knew existed.

He remembered those incidents where Tezuka made him run more laps or do more sets, he remembered his bottled up frustration, his eagerness to please, he remembered how he was crushed during their last encounter. And he channelled everything into a last smash.

But buchou finally countered with a Zero Shiki Drop Shot, his ultimate move, and the ball rolled back into the net without bouncing at all. The match was over with seven-zero score; game and match, Tezuka.

Kaidou sunk to his knees. Awed, dazed, amazed.

 

And then he saw it. He suddenly saw through it all. A laugh errupted from his lips as if he was a mad man. But no. He understood perfectly now. For he saw the tiny positive gestures for what they were now. This was not a crushing defeat; this was an accolade. Tezuka had been grooming him for buchou all along. And once he realized that, he regained his calm and took a deep breath to face his buchou accordingly.

"That was the best match I've played with you," Tezuka buchou acknowledged as he held out his hand. He even faintly smiled. "Yes," was all Kaidou could answer and as they shook hands it seemed like a promise to something else, a promise for life, instead of wishing each other just 'well played'.

"I will..." Kaidou began but his voice caught as he looked Tezuka in the eye and he returned the gaze deeply. But the third year understood none the less. "I'm counting on you," he said. And that was the highest praise.

Kaidou buchou would make sure to make his former buchou proud! Because that was what it was all for.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this story, please feel free to comment, kudo or bookmark. In fact, even if you don't like it, there's all the more reason to tell me why.  
> And check out my original works, too! ;)


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